My Name is Athena
by Chanting Fox
Summary: The story of a female Mewtwo, of the things she has learned and experienced, of the decisions that have shaped her destiny, and of how she became a light that dispelled the darkness... for humans and for Pokemon.
1. Beginnings

My name is Athena, and I am a Mewtwo. Many things have happened to me, and many things have occurred because of me. Some of my story you may already know... or think you know. To truly understand my story, you must truly feel what I have felt, see what I have seen, and know and I have known. All stories have a beginning, and mine is no exception.  
The first thing I ever saw in my life was the glass of the cylindrical compartment surrounding me (although I would not learn of this until later. Beyond it was a white tiled floor, marred only by the creature at one of the strange objects nearby. Floating in the air next to him was a small, pinkish-white creature, which suddenly turned in my direction. "Mew! Mewmewmew! Mew... MEW!" "Huh... what is it, Comet? What... she's finally conscious!" Both of them rushed over to me, Comet floating and the other creature running. "So, you're finally conscious... that's good. My name is... well, I gave up my name a long time ago... but you wouldn't understand what I mean by that just yet. My companion here is named Comet, and she is a Mew." 

I asked the first question that came to my mind almost instantly: "What exactly is a Mew?" The creature smiled and said: "I'll explain that later... right now I need to finish up a few more tests to make sure it's safe for you to come out of that container." "Why wouldn't it be safe for me to come out?" "That too I will explain later... don't worry, this won't take long." It didn't; a little while later the cylinder started to open for no apparent. However, I quickly learned that the creature had made the cylinder open via the controls on one of the consoles... and was told in turn what each word meant when I asked. I also learned that I was a clone, cloned of the creature's DNA and Comet's DNA. "Does that mean that I am just a thing to you, something that you worked on and nothing more?" I was surprised to hear myself say this, yet somehow I knew what those words meant. However, I was was surprised by the creature's response: "Of course not! What you are is a miracle... for 4 years I and Comet have worked here to ensure that you would come into this world... but initially that was the case." "What changed that? I don't understand what you mean by that." "It's time for your first few lessons... exactly who and what you are, and how it is possible that you changed from being a mere experiment to us to being something so much more... something so very much more." 

I learned many things those first few days: what humans were, what Pokemon were, what I was... so many things. "So I am called a Mewtwo? Is that my name?" "What would you like to be named?" "I... I don't know. What do you think I should be named?" The human shook his head and said: "No... that is something you must decide for yourself. One's name may appear to be an insignificant thing... but take it away and you then only realize what you have lost. I shall make many of the decisions for you... but your name is not one I will decide, and as you grow older, I shall make fewer decisions for you." I then asked a question, not knowing that the answer to it would be one that I would never fully understand until it was too late. "Why is that? Why would you make fewer decisions for me as I grow older?" "As you grow older, you will become stronger, wiser, and more capable of being completely independent from the two of us. Despite not having been born into the world, Comet and I view you as if you were our child, our own flesh and blood... the latter is an expression by the way." "What's an expression?" My father answered that question too. Yes, that's right, I viewed that human as my father, and Comet as my mother... once I learned the meaning of those words. I would learn more than this in the days to come... including lessons about the darker side of this world. 


	2. Lesson 1: Battle

At one point or another, children don't want to do what the parents tell them they need to do. I was no exception. I didn't see the point in learning Fighting-type moves, as my psychic abilities were clearly sufficient to fend off any creature foolish enough to attack me. I just thought that my parents didn't know how powerful I really was... or didn't wish to admit it. "I don't need to learn those moves! My psychic abilities..." "For the 10th time, your psychic abilities may be powerful, but relying solely upon them is a recipe for disaster!" It was three months after I had first opened my eyes, and I had quickly learned the meaning of many words as well as being able to tell when my father was using an expression. "If that's true, then prove it!" 

My father sighed and shook his head. "We didn't want to have to do this, but... Comet, we need to show her exactly why it's a bad idea for her to rely only on her psychic abilities. Can you find a Houndour nearby?" "Mew... mewmew!" A few minutes later my mother was back with a Houndour. I'd learned a bit about the species and was pretty confident that this would be no challenge at all. The gleam in the eyes of the Hounddour should have warned me... but I was too overconfident of my abilities to even notice. I'll save you the time as anybody who's familar with the basic traits of Dark Pokemon knows exactly what happened... I was soundly defeated without even scratching my opponent. The Houndour just shook its head and walked back into the forest surrounding the lab and the clearing around it.

"How... how is this possible? That Houndour took all that damage and still managed to beat me." "The Houndour didn't take any damage. Houndour is a Dark-type, and Dark-type Pokemon are immune to psychic power. In addition, Dark-type moves are strong against Psychic-types like yourself." "Mew!" "So that's why you want me to learn other types of moves?" "Especially at least one Fighting-type move... Dark-types are weak against them." I learned more than just the limitations of my psychic abilities that moment; I also learned that if one becomes overconfident in their seeming invincibility, that's exactly when they are the most vulnerable. It was a lesson I would never forget.

In the following weeks, I learned about Pokemon Trainers, Pokemon Breeders, Pokemon Battles, and the Pokemon Leagues. "So these Gym Leaders give out these badges to those trainers who defeat them in battle?" Yes, that's right. Furthermore, a trainer must acquire all of the badges for a League to participate in the League Championship." "Why would trainers and their Pokemon go through all that trouble?" "Some do it for fame, some do it so they can travel and see the world, and some do it for fun." "For fun?" "Yes... the problem is that fun can mean many things... and sometimes that means trouble for their Pokemon." 

My father would not say anything more about that, no matter how much I asked him. "You're not ready to hear such things... when you're older I'll tell you." "You promise that? You promise you'll tell me when I'm older?" My father looked at my mother and said sadly: "We'll HAVE to tell her, won't we Comet?" "Mewwwww..." I didn't understand why my parents were so sad at that moment... and sometimes I wish I never had found out why. 


	3. Imperfect Creatures

A few months later, my father started to teach me something new, and something of great importance: about the natures of both humans and Pokemon. What you are about to hear may shock you as it shocked and confused me at the time... but I've come to realize the importance of what I was told as time has passed. My father started by telling me the reason why nobody but he and my mother knew of my existence, and while it may seem that it is ridiculous now, many things have changed... many things indeed.  
"I don't understand... how can my existence be a crime?" "The fact that you exist is NOT a crime... the problem is the issues that surround bringing a clone into existence. First off, a lot of time, effort, and money are required to create a clone such as yourself. On the most basic level, cloning is simple and inexpensive... but that only applies to bacteria, which are single-celled organisms with DNA that is so well understood and so simple in nature that it can be successfully manipulated by high school science students. In fact, a bacterium reproduces by dividing into 2 smaller bacterium, which are identical to the original bacterium. In other words, they clone themselves." 

I didn't understand where my father was going with this for a moment, and then I realized something: my father had pointedly noted that bacteria were simple in nature, and given them as an example of cloning on the most basic level. "You mean that it becomes more and more difficult to successfully clone an organism if the organism is more complex than a bacterium?" "Yes... the more complex an organism is, the more problems there are in cloning that organism. However cloning would probably be legal if that were the only problem. The reason why cloning is illegal is the problems that succeeding in cloning an organism brings. For example, your DNA is composed of my DNA and Comet's DNA... but if another clone were made from the same DNA and compared to yours, that clone's DNA would be different from your DNA." "I don't understand... how is that possible? How could DNA from another clone differ from mine if their DNA were composed of the same DNA that mine was?" "There are several reasons for it... reasons which I will teach later. What is more important is for me to explain the other reasons why cloning is considered illegal, as this in turn will also help you to understand why this fact is so important." 

My father started off by telling me that in many cases, the clone of an organism would not live as long as the organism it was cloned from. This was both because the clone would come into existence with a body genetically the age of that the original organism was when the DNA used in the cloning process was obtained... and because quite often clones were subject to debilitating ailments. "Is that going to happen to me?" "... I wish I could say that it won't, but the truth of the matter is that I don't know, and neither does Comet. However, there are several things that we do know. First off, if your DNA coded for anything that would have prevented your body from functioned properly, you wouldn't be alive right now. Second, you have been taught that you are capable of regenerating damage inflicted to you in battle... you can also do that outside of battle, and we've also determined that your body involuntarily regenerates itself. In other words, your body is constantly repairing any damage your body has sustained... or came into the world with. Last of all, there are always exceptions... while you would be expected to have those problems based on what has happened in past cases, there is the chance that you will be fortunate enough to escape that fate... and that is something which Comet and I pray for." 

I didn't understand what my father meant by "pray," and I asked him about it. "That is part of what you are about to learn. Humans... Pokemon... both are imperfect creatures. We can try to achieve perfection, but we can never truly reach it. Those who think they are perfect are not... for perfection is an illusion, and by attempting to achieve it many have lost sight of what is truly important. Many humans believe that there are beings who hold control over the world and everything in it to some extent, beings which have few to none of the imperfections we mortal creatures have. In the past, humans called them "gods." I know not what Pokemon called them, or if Pokemon even believed in the existence of "gods." Some Pokemon were prayed to and worshipped in the past because nobody could explain anything about them scientifically and because of their powers; much of what has been learned about Pokemon has been discovered only within the past few hundred years. Others like the Ghost-types were feared... but whether feared or worshipped, Pokemon were respected and they still are... in many cases." 

My father continued to teach me for several months more about the nature of humans and Pokemon. I was taught by him that "good and evil" are relative terms, and that what one human or Pokemon views as one can be viewed as the other by another human or Pokemon. I learned that unfortunately not all humans respected Pokemon, and for that matter some didn't respect other humans either. The same applied to Pokemon as well. "Those who have Pokemon do not always respect them... it is an unfortunate fact. Just as it is an unfortunate fact that there are those who do not respect their own kind." I learned that while my mother and father were the only ones that knew of my existence, my father and I were the only ones who knew of my mother's existence. When asked about why this was the case, my father would say nothing except that it would be extremely dangerous for my mother if anybody else knew her existence. I wondered why this was the case... and I unfortunately found out. The peaceful existence that my parents and I knew wouldn't last... and one day I finally learned what my father and mother had been so afraid of... 


	4. The Darkness Falls

Once a month, my father would leave me alone at the lab and head to the town just outside the forest. My father took my mother with him, but he always made her get into her Pokeball before leaving. I didn't understand why, but I accepted it. My father always came back with food, supplies, books for me to read and study... but this time would end up being different. He'd come back with everything like usual... but something else came back with him. I had no idea that today would be a fateful day... one that would end up changing my life forever.

The first warning my father and I had was when my mother (who was sitting on my father's shoulder) turned around, and went into a panic. "Mewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmew!" "What is it? What's the matter?" My father and I turned around... and that was the first time I met them... Team Rocket. I didn't know who these intruders were then or what they were doing there, but I knew that if their presence had sent my mother into a panic that they had to be a problem. Then as I studied them, I felt terror come over me... something was horribly wrong. The intruders were two male humans and 2 Pokemon, but that in itself wasn't what caused the terror I felt. It wasn't the black caps and shirts with the "TR" logo on them the humas were wearing either... like I said, I didn't know what it meant back then. 

What had caused the terror to come over me was the Pokemon: a Fearow and a Sandslash. They wouldn't have had that effect except for one thing: the way they looked. They looked like they had been trained for one thing and one thing only: battle. That combined with the strong psychic aura of anger and hatred the Pokemon were giving off terrified me more than the prospect of battling against a Dark-Type did. (I hadn't fully gotten over the lesson that my father and mother had taught me about the limitations of my psychic abilities despite having learned non-Psychic attacks.)

One of the humans stepped forward and smiled evilly. "So you're the "mysterious scientist" that we've heard about. It looks like you've found a nice place for yourself... our superiors are looking around for something that would serve as a secret base, and this looks like the perfect place!" The second human smiled evilly as well and said: "However, we might be persuaded to overlook our discovery if you hand over both of your Pokemon." 

My father's response came as a surprise to me and them... it was cold and clear in the anger and disgust that I could sense emanating from my father's psychic aura, and was strengthened further by a similar aura from my mother. "Never... never will I agree to such a thing. The Pokemon on my shoulder is named Comet, and she has been the only family I had for a long time, and my constant companion for even longer. The lab behind me was nothing but a decaying ruin when Comet and I first came upon it, and I would rather return it to that state than hand her over to you!"

As my father continued, I began to understand how important I had become to him, banishing all doubts as to how he felt about me, and easing my terror as my father showed he knew quite well that something was horribly wrong with the intruding Pokemon. "As for the Pokemon behind me, she was born out of our efforts... cloned from DNA taken from myself and Comet. We worked day and night in the lab behind us to bring that Pokemon into this world... she looks upon us as being her parents, and no matter what the world may say, that is what Comet and I are! She is our own flesh and blood... and we will never sell her to anybody for any price! I will not see her become as your Pokemon have become: mere tools to be used or discarded at your whim... consumed by hatred, anger, and the desire for battle without thought for anything else! As for merely handing her over... never! I will never hand her over to be enslaved, to be broken to the will of those who have lost sight of what true power is! Leave now... or we will force you to leave!" 

The two humans had stopped smiling as my father had begun speaking, and as he continued had become confused and then angry. "Looks like you need to be taught a lesson in manners! Fearow, attack!" "We'll teach you to disrespect Team Rocket! Sandslash, take care of this dimwit!" My mother started to glow with a visible aura... and so did my father! I'd seen my mother mainifest a visible aura before when I'd been trained by her to control my psychic abilities... but I'd never known that my father had psychic abilities as well! What I did know was that the intruders didn't stand a chance; despite her size, my mother was extremely powerful, and the aura my father was giving off suggested he was quite powerful as well when it came to his psychic abilities. One attack from my mother and father, and the intruders were raised high above the ground, and then flung with incredible speed over the trees surrounding the lab... and then out of sight.

I was really happy that the intruders were gone, and I went to ask my father if they would come back. They surely wouldn't after that lesson... at least that's what I was thinking. However, one look at my parents and that illusion was shattered. The aura they gave off and the looks on their faces told me they were sad... more sad than I'd even seen and/or felt them being in my entire life. "Mom... Dad... what's the matter? You took care of those bad people and their Pokemon! They won't be coming back... right?" My father looked at me and said sadly: "If only that were the case... but they'll come back... and they'll bring others like them... others from their criminal organization." "Is their criminal organization Team Rocket? Surely they can't be a threat if that's the best they can do!" "It is far from the best they can do... those two men didn't have the capacity to comprehend what they were up against, but they'll survive to tell others, and word of us will reach those who can comprehend it. We can't stay here any longer... it's not safe anymore." "Mewwwwww..." 


	5. Two Minds, One Aura

"We must gather the supplies that we need quickly... the sooner we leave, the more chance we have of not being found quickly. We must gather only what we need together, and not what we want. Food, medicine, clothing... these are essential if we are to survive once we leave this place." I asked my father: "What about the books? We're going to take books too, aren't we?" My father answered: "Only those books which will be useful... we'll have to leave the rest behind, and..." My father turned to look at the lab, paused for a moment and said: "... and we'll have to destroy the lab."

"WHAT? WHY? WE'RE COMING BACK HERE, AREN'T WE?" I still hadn't fully comprehended the situation, and thus was shocked when my father answered me. "I'm afraid we can never come back here, my little one... not if you wish to have a life of your own one day. The lab has to be destroyed... if Team Rocket finds it and figures out what it was used for, they'll use it to make clones as well. However, those clones will end up like the Pokemon that Team Rocket trains, created and trained solely for battle... or other purposes." My father would say no more, and I quickly went to gather what my father had requested, and my mother followed me.  
I was almost finished gathering the supplies when I asked myself out loud: "Why is this all happening? Why does everything have to change? What makes Team Rocket so dangerous and powerful that my parents can't deal with them?" I was startled to hear a reply to my self-questioning in my head: "We are few, and Team Rocket is many." I was shocked, but quickly regained my composure and asked: "Who is it? Who's there? Come out and show yourself!" "My little one... my poor, sweet little one... just turn around." I turned... and saw my mother looking at me. "Yes, that was me. There will be time for explanations later... but we must gather the supplies now! Time is of the essence, and there is precious little of it to spare." 

A few minutes later, the supplies had been gathered and packed away in several bags... all that we were going to be able to take with us. My father and mother turned to look at the lab where I had come into the world and spent my entire life in and around. "Comet, it's time... we'll have to join our auras to destroy the lab quickly and thoroughly. Are you ready?" I was pretty sure that my mother said something to my father mentally, but all I heard was "Mew!" The auras that appeared around my parents when they had used their psychic abilities before manifested themselves as usual... but this time something felt different. Something was different... and then I saw it. A small part of the aura around each of my parents suddenly detached itself and changed shape. One end of the aura part was still connected to the main aura, but the other started to lengthen. A moment later, the ends touched one another and connected together... and then something happened that I can still remember as if it were happening here and now. 

Normally a human psychic and their Psychic Pokemon are linked together mentally in some way, but their auras are separate from one another. It used to be thought that these auras would always remain separate and under no circumstances would they join together; in fact the prevailing opinion used to be that attempting to force the separate auras to join together could be harmful at best and fatal at worst. However, that wasn't true... it wasn't true at all. The auras of my parents joined together, and then their separate auras began to merge together. Within moments I was unable to distinguish which aura was which, and I suddenly realized that there was only ONE aura present. I also realized that the amount of energy emanating from the single aura was far greater than anything I'd ever felt before.  
My parents motioned as one towards the lab, and I felt an overwhelming wave of psychic energy shoot from them directly towards the lab... and within the span of a few seconds the lab was destroyed. I was completely shocked at what I had just felt and witnessed, but I was quickly snapped out of it by my mother. "No time to explain now... we need to get out of here before THEY come looking for us!" I didn't ask any questions, as the urgency imparted in my mother's mental communication was quite clear. We quickly left behind the place that I had called home for my entire life... and I thought that would be the end of our problems. It was the end of our problems... at least for a while. 


	6. Know Thy Enemy

That first night, my parents and I didn't talk much. We hadn't managed to get out of the forest yet and I was told that the less noise we made, the less chance we would be found by anybody. Despite that I had many questions I wanted to ask, and tried to talk to my parents mentally... but I quickly realized that they were in no mood to talk mentally. I thought it was because of everything that had happened, and that turned out to be correct. However, that was only part of the reason for their mood. The next day my parents started to teach me again... but this time it would not be about the natural world or about battling. They started to teach me as to exactly what Team Rocket was, and I suppose my childhood ended that day. Childhood is a time of innocence, and I lost my innocence that day.

I'll never forget the look in my father's eyes as he began to speak... it was one of intense sadness and pain, and he always had enjoyed teaching me about the world and everything about it. I realized with a sinking heart that what I was about to be taught was not something that my father wanted to teach me, but rather something he HAD to teach me. "Little one, it's time for you to learn about Team Rocket... what they are, what their goals are, and what power they have at their command. I had hoped that you would never have to know this, but somehow I always knew that this day would come. Listen intently and close not your mind and heart no matter how much you wish to forget what I am about to teach you, or you may very well come to know far more about Team Rocket firsthand than I ever have."

"Team Rocket is a massive and very mysterious criminal organization... how massive nobody knows for sure, but they seem to have a presence everywhere except the Hoenn region. The leader of Team Rocket is also a mystery... almost nothing is known about the leader of Team Rocket, and what little information there is about their leader is probably unknown to anyone except the highest members of law enforcement and the Pokemon Leagues. The only thing that isn't a mystery is the criminal activities of the Team Rocket organization, among which are stealing Pokemon from trainers and poaching rare and protected Pokemon. That means that Team Rocket captures Pokemon which are known to live in very few places in the world and in places where it is punishable by law to try and catch Pokemon. This has a devastating impact, as this results in a decrease in the wild populations of Pokemon species which are already very low. In a worst-case scenario, the species would die out in the wild because the population would no longer be capable of sustaining itself." 

"Why would they do it then? Why would they break the law and allow such a horrible thing to happen?" "There are several reasons... some of which are simple, and some of which are more complex. A simple reason is money; there are people in the world who will pay huge amounts of money for a rare Pokemon or a Pokemon which has already been trained. It saves them the trouble of catching and training the Pokemon themselves, and for that matter the trouble of finding the Pokemon themselves. What's worse is that some people collect Pokemon as if they were bottlecaps or books, and for that reason are willing to do the same. As against that, not all Pokemon collectors will buy Pokemon from Team Rocket... but those that do merely encourage their criminal activities." 

That seemed simple enough... too simple. "There has be to more than that driving Team Rocket to their actions. Can't they understand what they're doing is wrong... that it hurts both humans and Pokemon?" "No, many among Team Rocket can't understand that, don't wish to understand that, or understand that but don't care at all. I taught you a lot about the world, and you learned a lot from the books you read... but some people aren't so lucky. For one reason or another they never were taught what you were. Perhaps they had to work when they were young so they and their parents could afford to buy food and clothing, or maybe their parents were cruel and uncaring... ot merely unable to act as parents should. Some people are sick and twisted and find enjoyment in causing others pain, in controlling the lives and fates of other living creatures. Some know what they're doing is wrong, but they don't care because they've been taught that Pokemon are inferior to humans... yes, that's what some people believe, and unfortunately what Team Rocket appears to teach their members. What saddens me are those who know that what they're doing is wrong, and would stop if they felt they had a choice in the matter." "What do you mean by that? How could they feel that they don't have a choice in the matter?" 

My father looked at me sadly and said: "I'm going to tell you a story. This story isn't based on any true incident as far as I know, but the logic behind this story is very real. Imagine that you're walking through a small town in the middle of the night, and see something that stops you in your tracks. It's a little house with a young child crying looking through a closed window, crying. The child is looking at two people, one of which has to be the child's mother and the other a man wearing a Team Rocket uniform. In a cage resting on the ground is a young Growlithe, which is the reason why the child is crying. Suddenly, the Rocket hands over some money and picks up the cage, then vanishes into the night. From what you've seen, it appears that the child's mother has sold her child's Growlithe just to make a little money, and worse she sold the Growlithe to a member of Team Rocket! However, things are not always as simple as they appear. 

You head towards the woman, and confront her about her actions. Enraged, you demand she explain how she could do that to her child and to that Growlithe... and your rage quickly turns to surprise and then pity as the woman explains. A few months ago, her husband died in an accident, and the family had always depended on him and the work he did to earn the money the family needed to food, clothing and other necessities. There had been some money saved up for an emergency, but it ran out a week ago and she still hasn't been able to find a job. There's barely any food left in the house, and what food is left is barely enough for the woman and her child. The fact is that she couldn't afford to keep the Growlithe anymore, and she needed money to buy more food. Selling the Growlithe to Team Rocket was the only way she could think of to get the money she needed." My father paused for a moment and then said: "That's what I mean by them feeling like they don't have a choice in the matter. Humans and Pokemon can and will do things that they feel or have been taught are wrong in a dire situation where they have no better options. It takes great willpower to overcome the instinct for self-preservation." I understood what my father meant by that... or at least I thought I did at the time. My father spent the rest of the day going over parts of previous lessons that he felt I needed to go over again. Things continued like this for several weeks more... and then one night I asked my parents a question... and I'll never forget the answer my parents gave... for it would end up being the only glimpse I would ever have of the lives of my parents before I was born, and the initial reason that my parents had for bringing me into the world would be revealed. 


	7. Secret Sorrows Revealed

My parents and I were getting ready to go to sleep for the night just as we'd done many times before. However that night would be different... the events of that night would show me that even my parents had their dark secrets, ones which they had wished to never speak of. Now these secrets were not secrets that were "dark" as in "evil," but rather "dark" as in secrets that one wishes to never speak of because of the sorrows from your past that they remind you of. The events of that night started with me asking a few questions that seemed innocent enough... but some questions seem innocent only because you know nothing of what you are asking about. 

"Mother... Father... what exactly motivated you to spend your time and energy at the beginning of those 4 years... what exactly motivated you to bring me into this world in the beginning? You said that I became something more than an experiment over those 4 years, but why? Finally, why didn't you name me when I came into the world? From what I know, parents name their children but you both said that I must decide upon my own name. What reason did you have for that?" 

My parents looked as they been struck by an Electric attack for a few moments, then their look changed to one of deep sadness and regret. "Comet, I think I should start off on answering this one." "Agreed... I wasn't there with you at the beginning... something that pains me deeply as I could have stopped it from happening." "Stopped what from happening, Mother?" "All will be revealed in due time, my little one." 

My father began to speak slowly and sadly. "I was born into this world, little one... born into this world from my mother's womb. I had parents, a mother and a father. I looked up to them, respected them and considered them far wiser than I would ever be. That all ended that fateful day, the day I turned 10 years old. That day my psychic powers manifested for the first time without any warning and at the same intensity you have witnessed me use them at. The differences then were that I had no idea what was happening and was unable to control my powers, not having any training in doing so. My powers manifested themselves in a "psychic burst," something that was completely unknown to the world. Other psychics lived in our town and had detected no psychic potential within me despite their skill. That "burst" was the first sign there was that I possessed psychic abilities... and it proved fatal to my parents." 

I realized with horror what he meant; he and my mother had trained me rigorously when it came to my psychic abilities, as I had learned that without such training I would be a mortal danger to not just myself but other creatures as well. With no training and no knowledge of what was happening to him at the moment that his powers manifested, the result would have been that his psychic powers would have manifested themselves at their full intensity raw and uncontrolled. It was a miracle that he had survived... but that was because he would have a little protection from his own powers even under those circumstances. It wouldn't have been much, but it obviously saved him... but his parents were a different matter. They had obviously not been psychics as the "burst" had been the first sign that my father possessed psychic abilities, and that would have been expected if his parents had possessed such abilities as well. Without such abilities, no living creature (perhaps barring a Dark-type Pokemon) would have had any chance of survival. 

My father continued with his story, and it soon became clear how he had met my mother. She had felt the "burst" from my father and (being curious) come to investigate. What she found was a destroyed house, two dead adult humans and a 10-year old boy with newly manifested psychic abilities on the brink of losing his sanity. She had quickly realized that if that were to happen that this would happen again... and again, and again. The only thing more dangerous than a powerful untrained psychic is a powerful untrained and INSANE psychic. She made the ultimate sacrifice that day and linked herself to my father mentally... an ultimate sacrifice because she had never met my father before and had been a wild Pokemon, free to do as she wished. Normally a wild Pokemon will only give up the freedom that comes with being wild if a trainer has earned deep trust from them and/or been defeated in battle by the trainer and the trainer's Pokemon. 

My mother continued the story as my father broke off, unable to continue. "Your father lost almost everything he had known that day, and the one thing he didn't lose he cast off... his name." "Why...why did he do that? Mother, I don't understand... why?" "It was simply too painful for your father to keep his name after what his powers had done to his parents." "That wasn't his fault! He didn't mean to kill them! He didn't mean to do anything!" "That still didn't change the fact that it was his powers that resulted in the deaths of his parents, and as such he didn't feel that he should carry the name that his parents had given to him." 

I thought about that for a moment, and then I asked my father this question: "Is that why you refused to give me a name? Is that the reason?" My father replied: "Yes, that is one reason. Having cast off my name, I have no right to impose a name upon you. However that is not the only reason... it was long thought that one's name held power, and that there were ways that one could be controlled by another who knew their name. In some ways, that still holds true... which is another reason why I refused to give you a name." "That's ridiculous... you can't control someone by just knowing their name!" "I said that names hold power, little one... not that such power is physical in nature. Names hold power psychologically and emotionally... speaking a name can inspire respect, hatred, grief... in some ways your name becomes a definition of who you are." 

My mother agreed with him on that point. "Your father initially gave me my name because of both the speed and appearance of my Quick Attack. He discovered later that it also applied to my intelligence and my ability to see things that he could not." I thought for a moment and asked my mother what kinds of things she meant. "You are about to learn of those, little one... and the answers to your other questions as well." 


End file.
